Keanu Reeves has revealed the touching reason he keeps coming back to star in the John Wick films 10 years after his debut as the title character.
The stars were out in force for the John Wick: Chapter 4 premiere in London on Monday night, where the actor, 58, chatted about the film.
He said of why he still plays the role: ‘I like his humor, I like his determination, I like his sadness and it’s really fun to play him in these movies, these movies are fun.’
Keanu suggested that the character John was testing his limits, adding to Metro: ‘I try really hard, but with John you have to try just a little bit harder.’
At the premiere, Keanu led the arrivals looking dapper in a dark green velvet suit, while leading ladies Natalia Tena and Rina Sawayama cut glam figures.
Nearly a decade after Keanu’s John Wick went on a deadly rampage after his beloved dog was killed, the hitman might just have a new four-legged friend in the final trailer for John Wick: Chapter 4.
The first John Wick film found the title character living a peaceful life in retirement with an adorable dog as his companion, a final gift from his dying wife.
When a group of assassins made the mistake of killing his beloved dog, the assassin Wick came out of retirement and went on a bloody rampage.
Now, John is fighting for his life and trying to take down the mysterious assassin organization known as the High Table in the latest trailer (via Lionsgate Movies)… which comes in the middle of ‘Wick Week,’ which was kicked off with the news that the film will almost three hours long.
The trailer features Nas’ 2001 track Got Ur Self a Gun (which samples The Sopranos theme song Woke Up This Morning) and also teases the new canine friend.
The trailer opens with a mysterious DJ noticing a song and saying, ‘This song goes out to you Mister Wick’ as she plays the new Nas track.
Wick is seen meeting with The Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne), who presents him with a new (probably bulletproof) suit, adding, “42 regular, wasn’t it?”
‘Yes,’ says Wick, as Winston (Ian McShane) adds, ‘And so it begins’, as we see Wick take out a number of assassins in a crowded nightclub.
Shimazu (Hiroyuki Sanada) is seen briefly, as is Marquis (Bill Skarsgard), when Winston tells John: ‘Challenge him to single combat.
John is seen meeting with the Marquis in a cafe overlooking the Eiffel Tower in Paris, as the Marquis tells him: ‘If you win, you will have your freedom’, although it is still unclear who John’s opponent is.
Another shot shows Akira (Rina Sawayama) stabbing a man with two knives as he climbs a flight of stairs, while we see more shots of John taking on multiple enemies at once on a rooftop.
We get another glimpse of Charon (Lance Reddick) plus another shot of John in another gunfight in a rainy nightclub.
John is seen driving his black Boss 429 Ford Mustang (with no driver’s door) as we catch a glimpse of a new character called Killa (Scott Adkins) saying ‘The Baba Yaga’ and laughing.
We also get a new look at Caine, played by martial arts legend Donnie Yen, seeing his prowess with a samurai sword, along with a glimpse of Shamier Anderson’s Tracker.
The Elder (George Georgiou) is heard saying, ‘The only way John Wick will ever find freedom and peace is in death’, as John is seen on horseback riding into a desert to see The Elder.
“Yeah, not really,” John says to his supposed prediction before pulling a gun on him.
John is seen in another gunfight near the chaotic Champs-Élysées in Paris, overlooking the Arc de Triomphe… when he finds a surprising ally: a new dog that runs across car roofs and bites the arm of a man trying to kill John .
The final shot shows the dog looking up at John with a whimper as John looks back at him… as the trailer ends.
John Wick: Chapter 4 also stars Natalia Tena, Aimee Kwan, Marko Zaror and Clancy Brown, arriving in theaters on March 24.
It will only go up against IFC Films’ The Lost King starring Sally Hawkins, although there are no box office projections available at this time.
Lionsgate also has the John Wick spin-off Ballerina in the works, starring Ana de Armas, while Reeves also returns as John Wick.